White Eggplant Casserole

Need an appetizer or light lunch for your next get-together? Look no more. This layered eggplant dish has the creamy goodness of mozzarella and the nutty taste of Parmesan. It can be served hot or at room temperature. Serve this next to a bit of spinach salad or cut into little squares and put on an appetizer tray. This is great even cold as a midnight snack. Would this be good heated up and placed in a toasted English muffin for a quick breakfast? I will have to investigate that…..

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, tops/ends trimmed and peeled

Kosher salt

Cooking spray

½ cup seasoned, dried breadcrumbs plus 2 Tablespoons

½ cup grated Parmesan

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

¾ cup egg substitute

¾ cup fat free half and half

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Salt and pepper to taste (for me, I just added some freshly ground black pepper)

Directions: Prepare the eggplant by slicing in half lengthwise and then place each half flat side down on a cutting board. Cut lengthwise into ¼ inch slices, the whole length of the eggplant. Repeat until all the eggplant is sliced, then layer in a colander with a generous sprinkling of kosher salt between each layer and let sit for 1 hour. Rinse and dry the eggplant thoroughly on paper towels.

Combine ½ cup of the breadcrumbs, all the Parmesan and all the mozzarella in a small bowl. Set aside ½ cup of this mixture in another bowl and set both bowls aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg substitute, half and half and garlic salt. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 2 ½ quart rectangular baking dish (or whatever you have) with cooking spray. Sprinkle the 2 Tablespoons of dried breadcrumbs in the bottom and shake to coat evenly.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Brown all the eggplant slices on both sides and remove to a plate. If your eggplant is dry and your skillet hot, this will only take a minute on each side. Spray with extra cooking spray whenever you feel the need.

Layer the casserole by placing a layer of eggplant and then a sprinkle of the breadcrumb/cheese mixture from the biggest portion until you use all the eggplant and all of the bigger portion of breadcrumbs/cheese  (you want to end with the eggplant here).  I got four layers of eggplant, which meant I could use a generous handful of the breadcrumb mixture between each layer. That is perfect—I want the breadcrumbs to soak up any extra liquid and make this a firm casserole. I also want cheesy goodness with every layer.

Pour the half and half mixture all over the top and then sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup of breadcrumb/cheese mixture.

Bake 40 or so minutes, until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Slice into big, healthy slabs.